Category Archives: VAT Refund Heathrow

Our return flight home is from T3 Heathrow taking the Heathrow Express train from Paddington train station. It’s a 15 minutes walk from Tune hotel and the train journey to Heathrow is a short 15 minutes ride. We have purchased our tickets in advanced and entitled for a 30 Day Advance Express Saver Weekend Single ticket at £8.80. If I would have known earlier, I would have purchased a 90 Day Advance Express Saver Weekend Single ticket at £5.50. The normal price is £22.00

Getting off Heathrow Express and walking towards T3.

You come up by escalator (left) from the train stop onto the front of the airport terminal building. With glass roof but open, you’ll feel the chill of the evening spring.

The VAT refund office is outside the terminal building between doors ‘D’ & ‘E’. Get all your receipts ready and present it to the counter staff. They are efficient and the whole process takes a couple of minutes barring no long queue inside. We had our VAT refund in cash and in Malaysian currency. The refund was being made by the same counter staff that check the receipts.

Should you purchase some more items inside the departure hall, there is another VAT office there to attend to your purchases. I guess if you do not want to do your refund outside the terminal, you could do it in the departure hall as well.

There is another VAT refund office inside the departure hall after passport control and customs.

The departure hall is flurry with activity especially at stores offering discounts. And at the food court and restaurants it’s the same. Nonetheless, the departure hall has ample seats for those who just want to sit down and rest. For Muslim travellers, there is a prayer room at the departure hall as well as inside the terminal on the 1st floor.

Inside Terminal 3.

Estee Lauder on 50% discount.

Swatch was having a crazy sale too.

Passengers milling around the stores at departure hall waiting for their flight to be called.